A Strange Encounter
by Amme Mahtal
Summary: Holden feels trapped. Everyone he has ever been associated with turned out to be a phony. Young and naive, Holden wanders on his own once again, but this time to New Jersey where he discovers a new friend and a new outlook on life.


A/N

OK, this is probably the strangest thing I'm going to be posting on my account, just bear with me. It's an old English assignment from my freshmen year and I thought I'd share it. The assignment was to create a scene in which you run into Holden in your world and discuss one of the main topics raised in The Catcher in the Rye. I chose phonies. If you recall, Holden declares practically every character in the book a phony. I guess you can consider this a crossover except not really because my life isn't a book, movie or tv show (oops). Also, if you haven't already, please check out my other two stories on my account. Enjoy!

The lights come on and soon I am surrounded by claps and cheers. I join in the chorus and stay behind to watch the end credits, awing heavily. Soon, I am one of the few people behind. But the peace does not last long. Rude booing echoes throughout the theater, and I turn to look where the disturbance is coming from.

"Boo! This movie depressed me! It damn near depressed me! Who do these phonies think they are?" shouted an angry young man.

"What do you mean it's 'phony'?" I reply.

"Who are you?" he demands.

"My name's Emma, and I happened to like the movie. Who are you?" I say.

"The name's Holden."

"Why didn't you like the movie, Holden?"

"Because it depressed me! It's full of phonies and big jerks!" he answers.

"What do you mean?"

Holden looks at me for a minute then scowls. "The movie reminded me of my brother, D.B. He's got a lot of dough. He didn't use to. He use to be a regular writer. Now he's out in Hollywood, DB, being a prostitute-"

My eyes widen in shock and disbelief. "What? Your brother's a prostitute?" I ask.

Holden looks at me then shakes his head, frustrated. "No, not that kind of prostitute! He's out in Hollywood writing for movies now and being all phony and it just damn near depresses me! If there's one thing I hate, it's the movies. Don't even mention them to me," he explained.

"If you hate movies so much, why are you at one?"

Holden sighs and looks away.

"What is it?"

He shrugs his shoulders before answering, "I'm just wandering around Princeton. I was in New York, but I didn't like it too much. It was full of phonies and big jerks. I heard about this small town in New Jersey and thought it might be better than the city. I just thought I'd give it a try, you know?"

"I guess, but there are phonies everywhere you go."

"I know that, and it depresses me. It does, it really does!"

I nod in agreement. It's true, the phonies depress me too. The way they pretend to be completely different people or fake a conversation really annoys me.

"You know not too long ago I was at a musical with a girl I know, Sally. We saw The Lunts. You ever heard of it?" he asked.

"What?" I said absentmindedly.

"Were you even listening to me?" cried Holden. He was obviously annoyed. He scoffs before continuing, "Trust me, you wouldn't want to see it, it's full of phony actors and actresses."

I laugh to myself. Somehow I knew he was going to turn this into a story about phonies. Soon enough, he is ranting about some guy his date knew and how much of a phony he was. I nod my head every once in a while to let him know I am listening, but I really am not. He just went on and on. I couldn't take it, so I finally I said,

"Holden, I don't understand. You keep calling people "phonies" and "big jerks," but what do you actually mean when you call them that?" I wait anxiously for a response. He's starting to make me nervous. I bite my fingernails, a terrible habit of mine, but it releases the stress or anxiety I may be feeling.

"Well, it's because... you know," he trails off.

"Actually, I don't know," I say.

Holden raises his eyebrow at me then says in a testy tone, "Everyone I've damn near met has been a phony! Stradlater, Old Spencer, D.B., Sally, Ernie, the Headmaster at Pency, Horowitz, the girls I met at the bar and-"

"I get it! I cry, exasperation pulsing through my veins. But you still haven't answered my question," I point out.

"Aw, why do you want to ask me such a thing? I don't know! It's just what I call people whom I don't like!" he exclaims.

I sigh. We are getting nowhere. No matter what questions I ask him, he always circles back to his old excuses. There has to be a way to break him, I just have to think. So far, the people he has mentioned seem to be older, or in positions of authority. Maybe he has a sister or a brother or someone who can- and then, I got it. I smile to myself.

"What are you smiling for?" Holden demands.

I giggle before answering, "Oh, it's nothing. But I was just wondering, you said that everyone you've met is a phony, correct?" He nods. "That's what I thought. But surely, you don't think of your family this way, do you?"

"I- well, it's not- huh," he sighs.

"Yes?"

"Well, you see, I have a little sister, and-"

"Ah ha!" I exclaim.

"What?"

Crap. I've got to stay calm.

"Nothing, it's just- you seem, I don't know, like the big brother type of guy," I add lamely.

"Really? Thanks! Phoebe is a great kid. You'd love her."

"What's she like?"

"She's smart, talented, and the sweetest, most genuine girl you would ever meet."

"Wow, she sounds amazing," I add.

"She is, she really is," he sighs with satisfaction.

This is my chance.

"So, it sounds like you don't think Phoebe is a phony or a big jerk at all," I suggest.

"Well, of course not! She's just a little kid! Kids aren't phonies! Or big jerks! Or, at least, not yet."

"So, you think when kids grow up they are going to become fake, snotty, Hollywood divas?" I ask.

"Yes, yes I do. That's why I've decided to become the Catcher in the Rye."

"The what?" I ask.

"The Catcher in the Rye," he repeats. "I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around- nobody big, I mean- except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff- I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them."

"Interesting," I say. "So, you're saying you want to stop... I mean "catch" kids from falling... becoming adults, because you think they are all phonies?"

"Yah, yah that's it. That's exactly it!"

"But I still don't understand, what do you mean by "phonies?"

"Besides from the obvious stuff?" I nod. "I think adults are superficial; they pretend to be someone they're not or they appear to be decent until you actually get to know them.

Holden is so negative; he never tries to view something in a different way. He's also way too judgmental. You've got to give people a chance. I know there are some people out there that are as fake as Holden describes them, but there are also people that aren't so bad. Holden needs to realize this in order to have a better perspective on things.

"Aw Holden, of course there are phonies in this world. Take the Kardashians for example," I offered.

"The who? Are they a group of actors and actresses?"

"Well, kind of, I mean... never mind. The point is, there are phonies but there are also people who aren't. "

Holden looks at me, a glimmer of hope lingers in his eyes, but quickly vanishes as he speaks.

"Oh yah? Like who?"

"Well, in 7th grade, I had the nicest, most genuine teacher ever," I suggest.

Holden crosses his arms and says, "Big deal."

"And one of my coaches, even when I would make a bad play, she never yelled at me or punished me. Instead she calmly explained what I did wrong and how I should go about fixing it."

Holden ducks his head, trying to avoid eye contact. He doesn't say anything, signaling me to keep going.

"So you see Holden, there are lots of fake people in the world, but there are just as many sincere ones as well. You may not find those kinds of people right away, but you will eventually if you try hard enough."

Holden keeps his head down, but it is obvious by his previous facial expressions that he knows I am right. I smile to myself. A long silence follows, leaving both of us to our thoughts. After what seems like an eternity, Holden breaks the silence.

"I guess you're right. I guess I didn't give everybody a fair chance."

I nod in agreement before saying,

"Hey, let's make a deal. I promise I won't judge anyone without getting to know them first- then, if they still seem like a phony, they can be classified as one. Deal?"

Holden looks up into my eyes and smiles for the first time.

"It's a deal."

A/N

WOW, ok to be honest I was really nervous about posting this because it's about a book that I abosuelty hated, but was forced to read and write about for class. Also, I forgot to mention earlier, our teacher told us to include some direct dialog from the book, so if some things Holden said seems familar, it's because it's from the book. I do not own The Catcher in the Rye, all rights go to the author (forget his name oops). If you enjoyed this crossover/fanfic/essay, leave a review and if I should post more old English projects because I have quite a few... phew long authors note! Anyways, thanks for reading and don't forget to follow and favorite!


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